Results 1,761-1,780 of 47,282 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Energy Usage (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is fully committed to the Climate Action Plan and its Climate Action Roadmap. The Department is striving to reach the targets to improve energy efficiency by 50% by 2030 and to reduce Green House Gas emissions by 51% by 2030. To date, DFAT has improved its energy performance by 38.6%, against the energy efficiency baseline of 2011 and has also...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued the passport to the applicant

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, supporting documents for this application were received on 22 April 2025. This application is within the standard turnaround time and has not yet reached its issue by date.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I am aware of arrests made and ongoing detention of a number of civil society activists by authorities in the province of Balochistan, in south-west Pakistan, in recent weeks and of the ongoing unrest in this region which has witnessed violent insurgencies and political and ethnic conflict in recent years. Ireland, through our Embassy in Islamabad, continues to monitor developments in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Maintaining and strengthening bilateral relations with the US is a top priority for this Government. Ireland has nine missions in its diplomatic network in the US, including our Embassy in Washington DC and eight Consulates General. This network of US diplomatic missions has been expanded under the Global Ireland Strategy, with the opening new Consulates General in Los Angeles and Miami, to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Historical Conflicts (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government views the terrible events which saw the deaths of a large number of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire as a tragedy, and has expressed deepest sympathy for the enormous suffering of the Armenian people during this period. The term ‘genocide’ has a particular meaning under international law. The Government has not taken a stance on whether those...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 276, 277, 278, 279 and 283 together. My Department works closely with civil society partners, both at home and overseas, in the delivery of Irish Aid, the Government of Ireland's international development programme. Further information on Irish Aid funding, including a full list of civil society partners, is available in its annual report. The latest...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Funding (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 280, 281, 282 and 284 together. My Department expects the highest standards of governance and accountability from organisations in receipt of grants, in line with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform requirements for organisations in receipt of Exchequer funding. It reserves the right to reduce grants, stop transfers prematurely or withhold...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service requested further documents for the application on 08 May 2025.The application cannot proceed until the required supporting documents have been received.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued the passport to the applicant.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has offices in Ireland and in 102 diplomatic missions across the world. Across this mission network, the duties of personal assistant to the head of mission are undertaken by locally recruited colleagues, often in addition to other administrative and consular functions. In a small number of locations, civil servants are posted abroad to serve as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland's Consulate General in San Francisco covers the region of Northern California, as well as the U.S. states of Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The Consulate General in San Francisco routinely engages with key stakeholders across all states within its remit, including the local Irish community and state political representatives, and maintains...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Agreements (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The following international agreements have entered into force for Ireland between 1 January 2020 and 10 May 2025. In respect of the years 2024 and 2025, the process of consulting all Departments in order to compile a definitive list is still ongoing and so the details provided are based on the information currently available to my officials. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: EU enlargement has become an even more strategic issue following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The invasion has highlighted the clear need for continuing, ever-closer cooperation between the EU and our partners in the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood regions. Ireland believes EU membership is an important guarantee for Ukraine. The decision taken by the European...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Union (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The UK is in the process of accession to the CPTPP. The Government is committed to supporting free, fair and open...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Defence Forces endeavour to notify local residents and to limit disruption caused by any training exercises undertaken, especially where it is necessary for training to be carried out at night. I am advised by  the military authorities that a training exercise was conducted by 2 Brigade Training Centre in St. Bridget’s Campus, Ballinasloe over the period in question from...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Corps (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 342, 344, 345 and 346 together. In December 2024 the Department of Defence signed a contract for the delivery of four German-made Airbus H145M helicopters which will provide a modern light-utility helicopter capability for the Air Corps. They will replace the present ageing fleet of two EC-135s, which have reached the end of their useful service life. ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Conciliation and Arbitration (C&A) scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) provides a formal mechanism for the PDF representative associations, i.e. RACO and PDFORRA, to engage with the Official side. Having regard to commitments under national public service pay agreements, the representative associations can make representations in relation to the pay and conditions...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government. The acquisition, modernisation and upgrade of Defence Forces equipment are considered in the context of the established capability development and Equipment...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Corps (13 May 2025)

Simon Harris: In terms of calls for a public plebiscite in relation to the Government's proposed changes to the Triple Lock. It should be understood that this mechanism is not set out in our constitution – it is set down in national legislation, the Defence (Amendment) Act 1960 as amended. As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterised by...